A Major Streaming Service Just Fixed Its Most Frustrating Feature

When browsing a streaming service for something to watch, one of the most frustrating things is finding a movie or show only to click it and discover that it’s not actually included in your subscription — that’s right, you have to pay extra to buy or rent it.

If you’re an Amazon Prime Video subscriber, you undoubtedly know this pain all too well. It’s the only popular streaming service that has seamlessly woven free (for subscribers) and paid content — as well as content from other subscription services — within its app without any real distinction.

For context, services like Netflix, Max and Disney+ don’t show such content at all because they don’t allow users to buy or rent movies. Apple and Hulu have dedicated places for buying and renting — the iTunes Store and the Hulu Store, respectively — separate from their subscription services.

The good news is that Amazon is changing its ways — it’s rolling out new UI and a big redesign to its Prime Video app that aims to, according to its blog post, bring “clarity and simplicity back to streaming.”

Amazon

What’s changing?

The biggest change is that a new navigation bar will live on top of your screen. This is where the “Home,” “Shows,” “Movies,” “Live TV,” and “Sports” tabs — which previously appeared on the side navigation bar — will live.

Most significantly, there will be a couple of new tabs that will live on the top navigation bar.

The first new tab is also the most meaningful. Called “Prime,” this is where you’ll be able to go to see suggested shows, movies, and documentaries that are included in your Prime Video subscription. No more messing around with unwatchable content.

Secondly, there will also be “Subscription” tabs for accessing content from your other subscription services, such as Max, Paramount+, and Crunchyroll. If you haven’t already done so, you’ll have to add each of these subscriptions to the Prime Video app. Each of these individual subscription tabs will live on the top navigation bar.

When will the new updates roll out?

As somebody who has subscribed to Amazon Prime Video for years, I’m hoping that this seemingly simple — but meaningful — update will make navigating the app a heck of a lot easier. After-all, Amazon does have some pretty good original content worth watching, including The Boys, Reacher, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Carnival Row … let’s forget about Rings of Power.

The redesign and new UI will roll out to the Prime Video app in “the coming weeks.” So don’t be worried if you don’t see any difference with the app right away.

To learn more about the Prime Video update, check out Amazon’s blog post.

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